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Turn-based strategy games have always been up there with creased jeans and Styrofoam as among my biggest turn-offs. There's something about the static, menu-based gameplay that runs contrary to what I usually look for in a game.

So when my girlfriend wants to check out Skulls of the Shogun at PAX, I reluctantly decide to indulge her. It's good to try new things. Little did I know I was about to discover a highlight of the show.

"Joystiq," I tell him, and he lights up, says he's been looking for me and insists he has a game he needs to show me with a title I've never heard of. He starts pressing through the throng of people and I follow as best I can, stifling the fear that he's taking me to some remote corner of the convention to rob and murder me.

My preview of Path of Exile was not, in case you've never covered a convention, how these things normally happen.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>grinding-gear-gamespath-of-exilepax-2010pax-prime-2010pcWed, 15 Sep 2010 18:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/retro-grade-preview-rock-your-brain-off/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/retro-grade-preview-rock-your-brain-off/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/retro-grade-preview-rock-your-brain-off/#comments
I set down the guitar controller and start walking back through the layers.

I'm sitting at the PAX booth of 24 Caret Games, taking my first spin behind the frets of Retro/Grade, which has one of those great premises that only a video game could really do justice to. As ace spaceship pilot Rick Rocket, I've done it again: I've saved the galaxy by defeating the horrific final boss. The credits begin to roll and it's only then that I realize that, somehow, as a byproduct of this victory, all of space and time has come to an end. I do the only thing I know how to do, I reverse the flow of time, intercepting the shots I once fired and sucking them back up into my ship.

This is where I, the player, take over. Unfortunately, as the level unprogresses, I miss unfiring too many of my shots and get hit by too many enemy bullets I dodged the first time. I get a game over screen, but I don't see the end credits I saw at the beginning/end, but rather the real "Game Over." Only, it's not literally Game Over, since my ship is equipped with a Retro/Rocket that lets me unreverse the flow of time and unmiss the shots I originally made so I can unmake them correctly.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>24-caret-gamesmatt-gilgenbachpax-2010playstationps3psnretro-gradeWed, 15 Sep 2010 17:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/10/the-dishwasher-vampire-smile-preview-hobbyist-graduated/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/10/the-dishwasher-vampire-smile-preview-hobbyist-graduated/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/10/the-dishwasher-vampire-smile-preview-hobbyist-graduated/#commentsThe Dishwasher: Dead Samurai was a smash hit on Xbox Live Arcade and rightfully so. But now there's a sequel coming next year and, with it, higher hopes. The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile stars a new protagonist, adds a bevvy of new challenges and, perhaps most importantly, runs on a brand-new engine.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dishwasher-vampire-smilemicrosoftpax-2010pax-prime-2010ska-studiosthe-dishwasher-vampire-smilevampire-smilexboxFri, 10 Sep 2010 09:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/09/lilt-line-preview-stay-between-the-lines/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/09/lilt-line-preview-stay-between-the-lines/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/09/lilt-line-preview-stay-between-the-lines/#comments
You know those Highlights magazines and coloring books you used to doodle in as a kid? Imagine your life depended on your ability to stay within the lines, only your arm had a mind of its own and the image you were coloring is constantly changing as you try to color it. Yeah, we had the same nightmare as kids ... and also, that's pretty much Lilt Line on Wii, the first game to be published - as opposed to developed - by Gaijin Games, the predominantly WiiWare dev studio behind the Bit.Trip series.

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It's difficult to convey the sheer terror and chaos I experienced in the first few minutes of the Slam Bolt Scrappers PAX demo. Though the Firehose Games reps told me how to play, it wasn't preparation enough for the actual game, a combination puzzler/brawler/strategy title that is one of the most unique blends of genres I've ever played. The learning curve was, um, kinda steep!

67,600. That's the number of nerds and gaming fans that rushed Seattle's PAX Prime show this year. It's easily the largest gaming event in the US open to the public, and it shows no sign of losing momentum. This year's show made headlines, too, with the surprise reveal of a fully playable Duke Nukem Forever.

Speaking with Gamasutra, the Penny Arcade duo noted that the establishment of PAX not only serves gamers, but publishers as well. "[Publishers] need a place like PAX to promote [their products]," the team said. This year's show gave fans (and journalists!) an additional opportunity to check out games like Epic Mickey, Swarm, and Outland before release. PAX's timing, the Penny Arcade duo argue, allow for games to be spread more evenly throughout the year. "Before, if a game didn't make its Christmas launch it was a nightmare. This year was much more distributed as far as big releases."

Penny Arcade Expo will return to Boston next year for PAX East 2011, which will undoubtedly also turn up big numbers. But, PAX may have its eyes set on an international show. "A third PAX would likely take place in a different country," the Gamasutra report states. "Preferably somewhere the duo want to visit." PAX South Africa, perhaps? Cause we've got that covered!

A lot of people have been making a big deal out of multiplayer in Torchlight 2 -- and rightfully so -- but not so much talk has been about modding. The first game had a substantial mod community, thanks in part to Runic Games offering mod tools for free to all players. And during my demo of the game at PAX, a Runic rep confirmed that the company will once again freely distribute mod tools to the public.

But because of the addition of multiplayer, I was concerned about how mods will be shared now. The rep confirmed to me that players will be able to use the new multiplayer framework to find games incorporating mods but, better yet, all XP earned in these games will stay with your character. I was promised persistence across all games, be they mods or standard games.

One final interesting tidbit: all loot dropped in multiplayer games will be client specific. This means that the items you see in your game are only in your game. No need for mad dashes to grab all the high-level loot drops!

During the Xbox Live Enforcement panel at PAX this past weekend, director of policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, Stephen Toulouse (a.k.a. Stepto), recited "Stepto's Law" for the audience. The complex formula is used to determine the validity of a complaint issued by a banned Xbox Live user. The law goes like this:

"The more convoluted, overwrought and lengthy the protest of innocence, the probability of it being bullshit approaches one."

Toulouse feels that his law "tends to be almost 100 percent accurate of Xbox Live," but of course there can be exceptions to the rule -- er, law, in this case.

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Two new screens from Dragon Age 2 have been passed along from BioWare, one of which showcases dudes with anteater masks. Sure, that may not be the technical term for said masks, but we're totally going with it.

Though I'd been having a great time spraying paint on enemies and wiping out obstacles with magical paint thinner in my PAX demo of Epic Mickey, I found myself absolutely stymied during a crucial moment. Here on my one hand was a helpless gremlin in a cage, begging for rescue. On the other, a treasure chest full of the game's currency, E tickets.

The tickets were counter-balancing the catapult in which the gremlin was confined, so snatching them would lead to his doom. But I was told that the tickets would be lost if I freed the gremlin. I had to get one of the two, but as soon as I did, the other would be lost forever.

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We've already established that the Xbox 360's Kinect can handle a seated person when the application supports it. But what about a grinning, highly combustible bug-eyed being and his entourage of faceless scientists? You may be surprised by the answer -- and how closely this resembles an actual Lady Gaga music video.

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What's up now, Comic-Con? PAX really brought it this year in terms of cosplay. There were street fighters, Spartans, zombies playing Rock Band and quite possibly the best Tali and Garrus we've ever seen (above). Hit up the gallery below and check 'em all out!

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It may be a holiday here in the US, but the show must go on! This isn't a traditional episode -- instead, we're just talking PAX Prime 2010, answering some questions from Twitter and addressing some fanmail. We're trying to keep it casual, you know, so pull up a chair, grab a frosty beverage and kick it with your X3F buddies below. Enjoy!

Oh, and we'd like to thank @_misterd_ for releasing the butterflies in the wonderful chop above.

The first public appearance of The Witness, a new game from Braid designer Jonathan Blow (and a small team of independent designers), almost went unnoticed. Its presence at last weekend's Penny Arcade Expo wasn't announced by an enthusiastic press release or trumpeted by a flashy trailer. It didn't even have a sign.

"PAX is a huge show, with tons of stuff to see everywhere; if the game could hold peoples' attention under those conditions, purely on its own merits rather than by hype or pedigree, then I would know that it was really working," Jonathan Blow wrote on The Witness blog. "Happily, the game worked very well - despite the fact that the visuals are still in an early prototype stage. People tended to play for a long time, and they liked what they played."

Kotaku's Stephen Totilo compared the first-person exploration and puzzle-solving to Myst. The game's beautifully lit and serene world hides abstract enigmas, such as boards that require you to trace the correct route. What's most interesting, however, is that there don't seem to be any prompts or instructions for the player -- making this understated PAX reveal seem very appropriate indeed.

A recent PAX interview by RockBandAide with Harmonix's John Drake reveals aton of minutiae for hardcore fans, and confirms that Rock Band 3 will allow you to export the RB2 tracks for a fee -- as you could with RB1. Drake states that the the export feature will work for all three consoles, though there are always "a couple songs that get complicated" when it comes to re-licensing. Official pricing and details regarding the export should be available shortly.

Drake also states that while regular DLC will keep the regular price ($2 per song), content made for Rock Band 3's Pro Mode will "probably" be more expensive. Harmonix has "a lot more work to do" on those tracks, and doesn't wish to increase the cost of the regular DLC to subsidize the Pro DLC that's aimed at a smaller group of players.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dlcharmonixjohn-drakemicrosoftnintendopax-2010playstationps3Rock-Band-3wiixboxMon, 06 Sep 2010 13:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/06/deathspank-thongs-of-virtues-virtuous-thongs-explained/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/06/deathspank-thongs-of-virtues-virtuous-thongs-explained/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/06/deathspank-thongs-of-virtues-virtuous-thongs-explained/#comments
When DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue was first introduced, we were baffled by the mysterious origin of the game's various undergarments of legend. Now that we know where they're from -- thanks to this latest trailer, care of PAX -- well, we're just as baffled. Head past the break and see for yourself.

When Insomniac announced the co-op focused Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One at Gamescom last month, we were all thinking the same thing: How did the series with the clever titles - Going Commando; Up Your Arsenal; Size Matters; Quest for Booty - miss out on the most obvious title here?

4play. Duh.

It turns out the guys at Insomniac didn't miss it, they just decided not to use it. "At the end of the day, I think we didn't want to scare off the parents who might be buying the game for their kid," series writer TJ Fixman told an audience at PAX this weekend. "So we went with 'All 4 One.'" Better still, they had other names, four of which they shared with us last night and, since we heart you, we'll share with you here.

Even better, we were later told there's a spreadsheet with over a hundred possible titles on it but, without that in our possession (send it to us, Insomniac!) we've got to do the next best thing. We're asking for your contributions in the comments below. But before you get to that, we're going to ask you to vote for your favorite title in the poll below. Our guess: "All 4 One" isn't going to make the top spot.

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Just because you didn't attend PAX this year doesn't mean you can't tell your friends and loved ones that you totally did. Just click through our gallery and memorize every nook and cranny of the expansive show floor. Then you'll be ready when your friends and family try to test your story. "Ricky, when you were at PAX, did you see a giant dinosaur statue, Phoenix Wright cosplayers and Jonathan Blow working on a laptop?" You bet your sweet ass I did, grandma.

Just two days after revealing its stewardship of the Duke Nukem Forever title at PAX, Gearbox Software just revealed that it has actually purchased the Duke Nukem brand. Gearbox president Randy Pitchford told an audience at PAX this afternoon that they're not just making sure Duke Nukem Forever makes it to store shelves, but they've actually purchased the entire Duke Nukem IP. "We actually bought the brand," Pitchford told fans. "We bought Duke Nukem."

A press release timed to go out with the announcement has some more information. Here's the big picture quote: "Gearbox Software announced today that it has acquired the full intellectual property rights of the 'Duke Nukem' brand including Duke Nukem Forever and all future projects in a cooperative deal made with 3D Realms." Even more interesting: "The first product to be available under the Duke Nukem brand will be the long awaited Duke Nukem Forever." Naturally, if they're buying the brand you can imagine DNF won't be the last game to feature the Duke.

Pitchford made a point to say that Alan Blum, the creator of the Duke Nukem franchise, is now with Gearbox. "He's on the 10th floor with his team," he said. He also wanted to explain that this franchise couldn't simply have been purchased by anyone. "I didn't buy it from [3D Realms]," Pitchford said. "They sold it to me." In the press release, 3D Realms' Scott Miller said, "Gearbox was handpicked as the new home for Duke Nukem because of their continued passion, commitment and long-time heritage with the brand and 3D Realms."

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We can all agree that Sonic Unleashedhad some pretty deep lows -- specifically, the Werehog. But the daytime segments in the game showed promise; almost a return to form. These areas of the game, for the unaware, combined Sonic Adventure-like 3D free-running elements alongside more classical, 2D elements from the series' past. It was easily the highlight of that game.

And Sega knows it, which explains why Sonic Colors is pretty much nothing but those portions of gameplay. That alone would make for a pretty serviceable Sonic game, but Sega has also added Wisps: small alien creatures who imbue Sonic with one-time-use powers.

You know how we told you about DLC for the iPhone and iPad versions of Bit.Trip Beat a few days back? During an appointment with developer Gaijin Games here at PAX, CEO and designer Alex Neuse confirmed the exact nature of the DLC tracks: they're Bit.Trip Void songs!

He informed Joystiq that the tracks weren't actually being developed by Gaijin Games, but were instead being crafted by the iPhone/iPad version's publisher, Namco-Bandai. Neuse is looking forward to trying the new tracks, as you'd imagine -- it's not every day you have an opportunity to be stumped by your own game, you know?

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alex-neuseBeatbit-trip-beatgaijin-gamesmobilenintendopaxpax-2010pax-prime-2010wiiwiiwareSun, 05 Sep 2010 15:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/05/swarm-preview-strength-in-numbers/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/05/swarm-preview-strength-in-numbers/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/05/swarm-preview-strength-in-numbers/#comments
Hothead revealed Swarm for the first time back at E3. Then, we didn't know much about the game -- it's actually still in pre-Alpha, despite a launch window of "early 2011." We were given a demo of the game at PAX and finally came to understand what we were dealing with.

It's hard to see the game and not compare it to Lemmings. Both games have a seemingly dull-witted cast who have found themselves inexplicably stuck in an incredibly dangerous environment. And both have the same means to persevere: teamwork.

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I know times are tight, especially for one-man indie dev teams, but, as a service to the gamers of Earth, Chris Hecker has got to get a better booth.

In a nondescript corner of PAX, under a nondescript banner and sporting slightly worse than nondescript graphics (all placeholder, Hecker assured) it would have been easy to miss SpyParty. It would have been a particularly unfortunate fate considering it was (drumroll) the best thing I've played at PAX so far.

Next month's Game Informer cover isn't revealing a new game - unlike last month's Batman: Arkham City cover - but it's still got plenty to offer. Behold! Three separate BioShock Infinite covers, crafted by Irrational artist Rob Waters, that ape the old-timey, Norman Rockwell aesthetic of "The Saturday Evening Post." Unveiled during a PAX panel titled "From Concept to Cover: The Game Informer Selection Process," GI Editor-in-Chief Andy McNamara shared not only the final three covers, but the many revisions that went into each one. We've got some galleries below of each cover and its various revisions, including some commentary from both Game Informer and Irrational.

Good news for you HK-47 fans out there! The meatbag-hating android from KOTOR and KOTOR 2 was teased at the tail end of today's Star Wars: The Old Republic panel at PAX, meaning you can enjoy classic lines like "Observation: I am awesome" in a massively multiplayer setting. Check out HK-47's greatest hits after the break.

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Not at PAX? Want to live vicariously through the power of the internet? We can think of no better solution to your dilemma than to recommend you watch our video of Matt "Chainsaw" Chaney's ukelele performance of "Donuts, Go Nuts!" from the Twisted Pixel booth this afternoon. And look on the bright side: You can go flip on your Xbox and play Splosion Man (again!) while all these suckers at PAX are left napping on beanbag chairs.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Matt-ChaneyPAX-2010Splosion-ManTwisted-Pixel-GamesXBLASat, 04 Sep 2010 20:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/04/portal-2s-pax-co-op-gameplay-footage-introduces-robot-hugs/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/04/portal-2s-pax-co-op-gameplay-footage-introduces-robot-hugs/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/04/portal-2s-pax-co-op-gameplay-footage-introduces-robot-hugs/#comments
Just because you aren't at PAX Prime this weekend doesn't mean you can't experience at least some of the joys and wonders that the show floor has to offer. For instance, the 10 straight minutes of Portal 2 co-op gameplay that we've dropped after the break, courtesy of GameTrailers -- hearing the "oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd on all sides, you'll feel just like you're there! And sure, you might not get a free Portal 2 shirt like this session's attendees did, but you can experience a heartwarming robot hug. And isn't that more than enough?

During development of the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie actually created a working boat. One map in particular was discussed during today's Bungie panel at PAX 2010 -- an area with several islands where the player would have to navigate from one to the other via watercraft. Bungie showed a video of an early rendering of the craft in use, which very much looked like a futuristic version of a cigarette boat.

In the end, it was cut from the game -- not because it didn't handle well, but because "it wasn't fun." Personally, we would've liked to try our hand at aquatic Haloing, but then again we're huge fans of Miami Vice.

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If you need proof that the upswing of independent game development is having an impact on more mainstream devs, look no further than Outland, the upcoming XBLA and PSN release just revealed by Ubisoft during PAX 2010.

Just tell me this doesn't seem like one of those way-out-there ideas, the product of one-man coding in his spare time: It's a beautifully rendered animated platformer that draws aesthetic inspiration from classics like Out of this World ... oh, and it's sort of based on Ikaruga.

Crazy, yes, but also very real and, as I can attest after one of the levels and a boss battle, very beautiful.

During his keynote speech at PAX yesterday, Warren Spector revealed the second half of Disney Epic Mickey's opening cinematic, which you can find and watch right after the break. The first half, you'll remember, set Mickey up as a mischievous type who'd played around with a magical paintbrush and eventually fallen into a spinning vortex of darkness.

In this half, Mickey is dropped into a mad scientist's castle in the Wasteland, where we get to meet Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the Phantom Blot and a cast of other characters who will undoubtedly appear elsewhere in the game. And just like the first half, this one is presumably full of old school Disney animation references and in-jokes, none of which we actually get (although Google helped us out with this one). Any Disney scholars want to call out Spector for showing off?

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There are all of those inside jokes, those gaming and pop culture references that we slip into conversation now and again, eliciting a chuckle from those "in the know." Now imagine you had enough knowledge to make a game and decided, "Hey, what the heck? I'll go ahead and put in a nod toward this classic in my game." That's kinda what Brian Provinciano did.

He came up with Retro City Rampage, a self-professed "open world action parody" that started out as Grand Theftendo, an attempt to create Grand Theft Auto 3 on the NES. It kinda snowballed from there and eventually ended up being Retro City Rampage, a retro sandbox game with plenty of moxie.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>nintendopax-2010retro-city-rampagevblank-entertainmentwiiwiiwareSat, 04 Sep 2010 04:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-2-preview-force-majeure/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-2-preview-force-majeure/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-2-preview-force-majeure/#commentsStar Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 is little over a month from launch and during my time playing it here at PAX, it was pretty obvious how far along the game has come. LucasArts has shown the same area of the game both at E3 and Comic-Con, but now it's been fleshed out and, more importantly, we were finally able to play it.

Fluidity, the new WiiWare game Nintendo is showing off at PAX, looks a lot more interesting than you'd expect from a game about tilting containers to let water flow. For one thing, the containers in question are whole rooms set inside a comic book, filled with puzzles that require you to squirt, freeze, melt or otherwise manipulate water to complete them. For another, the water animation is mesmerizingly pretty.

PAX attendees have the opportunity to swish around in Fluidity for themselves, but the rest of us will have to be content with the trailer after the break and the screens in our gallery.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fluiditynintendopax-2010puzzlewiiwiiwareFri, 03 Sep 2010 23:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/swarm-gameplay-trailer-plays-follow-the-leader/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/swarm-gameplay-trailer-plays-follow-the-leader/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/swarm-gameplay-trailer-plays-follow-the-leader/#comments
While the first trailer for Hothead's Swarm didn't feature any gameplay, it did show off the many, many ways to kill the game's main characters -- those little blue ... things. We're feeling that Lemmings vibe again in this new PAX trailer, which introduces the first gameplay footage.

All those gruesome deaths? Just as comically effective in game. Head past the break to see for yourself.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gameplayignitionignition-entertainmentmicrosoftpaxpax-2010pax-prime-2010playstationps3swarmutv-ignitionxboxFri, 03 Sep 2010 21:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/portal-2-multiplayer-screens-from-pax-will-win-your-heart/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/portal-2-multiplayer-screens-from-pax-will-win-your-heart/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/portal-2-multiplayer-screens-from-pax-will-win-your-heart/#comments
We still haven't been told the names of the two robots cooperatively making their way through an Aperture Science facility in Portal 2, but that doesn't matter -- we'll name them Red and Blue. In the screenshots below, released today by Valve, you can see our dashing nonhuman heroes hitting switches, diving into portals and just plain oozing personality.

In fact, even without seeing them move, we can already tell all sorts of things about how they act together. Red seems a little more timid and reserved, while Blue appears to be a go-getter who gets things done. Then again, look at that swan dive Red's pulling off. That's a thing of beauty right there. Curse you, Valve! You've already made us care about them so much!

Come get some background on Randy Pitchford's back-in-fashion Duke Nukem shirt, seen above:

"I moved to Texas and became a professional game maker to join Allen Blum, he created Duke Nukem 3D," the Gearbox co-founder told an audience at PAX. "He and Todd Replogle in Southern California, freaking invented this whole damned thing. And I moved out to Texas to join him and George Broussard and Scott Miller, and all the guys on the team, so that I could be part of Duke Nukem 3D. Because I wanted to add to that. I thought it was awesome; it was really fun and I wanted to be part of that team.

"This t-shirt I'm wearing, George gave me this t-shirt in 1996," Pitchford continued, now speaking as part of the team that now hopes to complete Duke Nukem Forever. "And we've been waiting for this game ever since. Guys like Alan didn't want to let the Duke dream die. They've worked their butts off all this time making great stuff."

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>duke-nukem-forevergearboxgearbox-softwaremicrosoftpax-2010pax-prime-2010pcplaystationps3randy-pitchfordt-shirtxboxFri, 03 Sep 2010 17:05:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/duke-nukem-forever-preview/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/duke-nukem-forever-preview/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/duke-nukem-forever-preview/#comments
After what is arguably the longest, most troubled development in the history of video games, Duke Nukem Forever is finally, really, truly here. It's not being shown secretly, behind-closed-doors at some industry event. Instead, it's at PAX, an event that is, more than any other in this industry, consumer facing, and that tangibility is a big part of Gearbox's reveal.

Wait, who? Gearbox Software, the Texas-based dev who's helping to bring 3D Realms' pre-Google (think about it!) labor of love to consoles, is behind this revival along with publisher 2K Games. "This is a game you can't make promises about," Gearbox prez Randy Pitchford told an audience of incredulous gamers this morning. "Haven't we not been teased enough? We don't want to tease. We just thought we'd bring it to PAX." And Gearbox didn't just bring a trailer - although it did bring one of those - but more importantly, there's about 15 minutes of playable game. Let that sink in for a while.

While we weren't able to grab video of the trailer - you'll have to settle for my account - Pitchford did say that people could take pics. Actually, he said, "You've got cameras. You've got cellphones with cameras on them. Take all the pictures you want [...] We'll even take the pictures for you." You know, when Duke Nukem Forever was first announced, I didn't have a cellphone yet ... and the idea of a cellphone with a camera on it? Madness.

Perhaps it isn't enough for you to know that Firefall -- Red 5 Studios' first release -- is full of guns and jetpacks? Would it help if you knew that the lead designer was also headed up Tribes? Ahhh, good! Firefall is a "team-based action shooter" featuring "hundreds of players" completing objectives and battling to the death in a "dynamic open world." And, frankly, it looks great.

The title is free-to-play and relies on an in-game marketplace for profit. We might normally balk at such a monetization system, but we were thoroughly impressed by the game's debut gameplay trailer, not to mention the pedigree behind Firefall. If you're as enticed as we are, you'll be glad to know that Red 5 is accepting applications for the game's beta starting right now.

It's finally, really, actually ... maybe going to happen at this point. The rumors are true: Gearbox Software and 2K Games have taken on the Herculean task of completing and releasing 3D Realms' unfinished Duke Nukem Forever. The project was officially unveiled today at PAX during a livestreamed presentation at the 2K Games booth and announced for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. "It's coming out in 2011," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said during the presentation. (Of course, we're skeptical about any release date associated with this particular title.)

Gearbox began finishing Duke Nukem Forever in late 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created," Pitchford told WSJ.

"We're in the polishing phase now. This is a game where we can not make a promise we can not fulfill," Pitchford added. "We need to get past the shock and awe, and then we can go to all the retailers and first parties and work out a launch plan."

Duke Nukem Forever is a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D and will feature both a single-player campaign and multiplayer. "Aliens come and say they're going to be our friends, and Duke knows this isn't going to work out," Pitchford revealed of the plot. "Duke once again is in the pivotal spot and it's up to him to save the world."